If You Were a Church
by SugarPunch
Summary: "Yang... You, Ruby, and even Blake are more like family to me than my brother or even my own father. I would do anything for you three, and I'm willing to bet Blake feels the same way. So, when she's ready, I'll be there for her. And I know we're not as close, but... I'm here for you too." "Canon" AU. Freezerburn.
1. Chapter 1

The first time she saw her, she was with her annoying sister.

Beacon was starting up a new year and she had managed to get into the school with little difficulty. The hardest part was getting her father to agree with her going to Vale, and other than a few bumps along the road, she was doing just fine.

That morning had been hectic, but manageable. Until she saw them.

"You!" she leered, her eyes trained on the hooded figure who had her back on her.

The girl yelped, jumping into the arms of the busty blonde. Weiss glared at the both of them. "You're lucky we didn't get blown off the side of the cliff!"

"Oh my god," the blonde interjected, her lilac eyes shifting to the girl in her arms in panic. "You really exploded."

Weiss eyed the girl warily. She didn't seem to have any trouble holding up that absolute dunce, which meant she had great upper body strength. Weiss took note of that, but pushed it to the back of her mind.

"It was an accident," the hooded girl started weakly. "It was an accident!"

Weiss took a step back as the girl got back on her own feet. Not wanting to wait for a long explanation, as that would only waste her time, she grabbed the pamphlet of her father's company and held it out to the clueless stranger.

"What's this?"

"The Schnee Dust Company is not responsible for any injuries or damages sustained while operating a Schnee Dust Company product. Although not mandatory, the Schnee Family highly encourages their customers to read and familiarize themselves with this easy-to-follow guide to Dust application and practice in the field."

The girl blinked. "Err…?"

Weiss sighed. She really didn't have time for this.

"You really want to start making things up to me?" she asked.

A worried frown made its way onto the dark-haired girl's face. "Absolutely?"

The heiress shoved the pamphlet into her hands. "Read this and don't ever speak to me again."

She thought she would be done after that. Already wanting to turn on her heels and walk away, she threw a final angry glare at both girls.

It was then that the blonde decided to butt in on their little conversation.

"Look," she tried, rubbing her hair anxiously. Somehow it was strangely endearing. "It sounds like you two just got off on the wrong foot."

Weiss rolled her eyes. That was putting it lightly.

"Why don't you start over and try to be friends, okay?"

The hooded girl looked at her and straightened her back. "Yeah! Great idea sis," she started, before holding up her hand. She cleared her throat. "Hello Weiss, I'm Ruby. Wanna hang out? We could go shopping for school supplies."

Weiss had to fight the urge to roll her eyes again. Being in close proximity to this girl was dreading, and her trying this hard was almost painful to watch. A heiress had no time to make friends. She had work to do, training to get to, perfection to strive for. Was that not clear?

Being straightforward wasn't going to help her with this Ruby girl. It was time for a different tactic.

Trying her best to smile as sweetly as possible, she looked Ruby straight in the eye. "Yeah, and we can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys, like… Tall, blonde and scraggly over there," she replied as chipper as she could.

Ruby gasped. "Wow, really?"

Weiss let silence befall on them for a few seconds, her smile now replaced with a harsh scowl. "No," she shot Ruby down. The girl's face fell as she took a step back, trying to find comfort with her sister.

The blonde threw her an angry glare and stepped past Ruby. "What is your deal?"

She looked as if she wanted to say more, but the mic on stage crackled to life and their attention on each other was lost.

Professor Ozpin took the stage.

To her surprise both sisters remained silent during the whole ordeal. In all fairness it was quite the speech, and not in a good way. Weiss felt a bitter aftertaste form in her mouth once Glynda had spoken her last word.

"He seemed kind of off," came the blonde's soft and careful words.

Her sister seemed to agree. "It's almost like he wasn't even there."

Weiss didn't know what to say. She had nothing to say to them. Briefly she wondered why she even stayed with them.

From the corner of her eye, she saw the guy she pointed at earlier approach. His goofy grin already made her want to throw up. Was this her cue to leave?

"I'm a natural blonde, you know?"

Weiss silently rubbed her eyes with one hand as she sighed. Then, without warning, she turned on her heels and walked off.

* * *

Her usual night routine had to be altered. That was okay, though. She could do that for one night. It was just one night after all – tomorrow night she would have her own dorm.

Or, at the very least, share a dorm with her teammates.

Weiss had spent the rest of the day trying to find the perfect candidates for her team, but so far she had little luck. Most of them were childish, rude or gloomy. Not many of them seemed to be team players despite Beacon's well known method in teachings.

She did have her eyes on a few first year students, but the lack of choice frustrated her. A team was more than just a few well-trained warriors working together. They had to click, too. Their strengths and weaknesses needed to match up.

Weiss was elite. She wanted to be paired with nothing but the elite.

As she patted down her sleeping bag to lie down as comfortable as she could, she saw a figure approach her.

"Hello," came the stranger's greeting. Weiss looked up, and for a moment her eyes widened.

Standing before her was a tall, red-haired girl with piercing green eyes. Weiss only saw kindness in her gaze, which, in turn, got highlighted by the warm smile tugging at her lips.

"Pyrrha Nikos," she muttered under her breath. She quickly recovered and straightened her back. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Pyrrha eyed the spot next to Weiss' sleeping bag. So far many other students had found their own place to sleep, but they mainly evaded the area around the heiress. She didn't mind. They'd only keep her up or waste her time anyway.

"Would you mind if I keep you company for the night?" Pyrrha asked carefully. Her smile never left her features.

Weiss had never moved so fast. She made space for the redhead to lay down her sleeping bag and nodded to the floor in encouragement. "Please, I insist," she added. A little voice in her head asked her why she was so eager.

Pyrrha thanked her as she placed her stuff on the ground. Weiss let her eyes travel the girl's figure. She sure was toned. That didn't come as a surprise. Pyrrha had a very good reputation amongst the people of their status.

The fact that she came to Weiss was, well, flattering.

Although it was to be expected.

"You have my thanks, miss Schnee."

Somehow that unnerved her. Weiss narrowed her eyes a little. She tried to let a smile shine through. "Please," she started. "Call me Weiss."

Pyrrha nodded in understanding. "Very well. You may call me Pyrrha, if you'd like."

She was so polite. Weiss was glad she could finally talk with someone of her own intellect.

They indulged in small talk for a little while. The heiress tried to pay a few well-earned compliments to Pyrrha, but the girl always shifted the conversation back to Weiss. It didn't take her long to understand what Pyrrha tried to accomplish, so she obliged.

She eventually cut their conversation short. Weiss would need all of her focus and energy tomorrow, after all.

"Good night Pyrrha," she said, as she laid her head on her pillow.

The redhead mirrored it. "Good night Weiss."

With that, the heiress closed her eyes, ready to welcome sleep. It took her a few moments to clear her head, but she could feel herself slowly slipping away.

Drifting.

Until she heard an annoyingly loud greeting.

Weiss snapped back into reality. She tried to keep her eyes closed. The room had been pretty noisy until now and she was able to filter the sounds just fine.

Yet somehow she couldn't block the noises coming from a few feet away. Unable to let this pass any longer she shot up with a glare and stomped over to the culprits.

"What in the world is going on over here? Don't you realize some of us are trying to sleep!" she yelled.

Her eyes skimmed both of the girls now quickly scrambling to their feet. A gasp escaped her lips, taken aback by their identity. She should've known these two troublemakers would be at it again.

"Oh not you again!" both her and the blonde yelped. Weiss had mostly directed it at Ruby, but threw a glare at the girl's sister too.

Only to see her glare being rivaled by the blonde's.

Before Weiss could even form a response, Ruby held her index finger to her lip. "Shh, guys, she's right, people are trying to sleep," she tried. It infuriated the heiress even further. Those were her own words. Was this brat seriously using them against her?

"Oh, now you're on my side," she scoffed, rolling her eyes in frustration.

"I was always on your side!" Ruby replied.

Her sister stepped closer to Weiss. The heiress refused to take one back, facing the blonde head-on, despite feeling very threatened.

"Yeah, what's your problem with my sister?" the blonde argued, an angry scowl present. "She's only trying to be nice."

"She's a hazard to my health!" Weiss sharply yelled back.

Feeling light pressure on her shoulder, she snapped her mouth shut and looked to the side. Pyrrha was standing at her side, her hand resting on Weiss' shoulder as she smiled at the girls apologetically.

"I'm sorry to intervene, but I do think we should all get some rest." Her green eyes shifted from the girls to Weiss. "Perhaps we can all talk about this in the morning?"

Weiss huffed. "I do not wish to speak to these children again." She glared another dagger at Ruby and her sister, and turned back to Pyrrha. "I suppose I can let this rest. If they remain quiet for the rest of the night, that is."

Silently, Pyrrha looked at the sisters. They nodded once, and she nodded back.

"Good night everyone. And good luck tomorrow." With that, Pyrrha waved at them and left. Weiss followed suit, not willing to deal with those childish antics any longer. She heard Ruby say something, but opted not to listen any longer.

Her eyes were trained on Pyrrha's back until they arrived at their sleeping arrangements. Weiss couldn't help but admire the girl's features and maturity.

* * *

 **A/N:** Wow, a new fic? From mod Cecille? It's more likely than you think!

All jokes aside, I was thinking about rewriting a few scenes in volume 5 for my favorite pairing. I was so happy to see them interact more, I just couldn't help myself. Volume 5 led to, well, back to volume 1, and I couldn't stop thinking to myself: how about I freezerburn the show up a little? So here we are! Hope you're in for a ride, because I'm really excited to try this out.

I'm not very happy with the first chapter because it's a lot like the show itself. Don't worry, I'm not intending to keep that trend going. Next chapter is actually a scene that didn't happen canonically, but just my personal take on them. I guess you could call this a "Canon AU", or something along the lines.

Constructive criticism is welcome, but so are other reviews! Let me know what you think n_n


	2. Chapter 2

The first time they had a one on one talk, they were on one of the balconies.

Weiss frowned as she stared at her feet. Her hands traveled to the rim of her skirt absentmindedly, gripping it as tight as she could. Professor Port's words were still haunting her; kept her in their grasp.

Deep down she knew what they meant. That didn't mean she could accept them. Not fully, not yet. She still deserved better. A proper leader, not a child.

The sound of approaching footsteps pulled her out of her thoughts. As usual she made herself as small as possible, nervously keeping her gaze locked on the doorway.

"– worry dad. Ruby and I are on the same team. I'll keep an eye on her."

That voice.

Weiss' eyes widened briefly. Why did it have to be her?

The blonde brawler walked, as nonchalant as ever, straight towards the edge of the balcony. It seemed she hadn't seen Weiss yet, and that caused her to sigh in relief.

The heiress kept a watchful eye on her teammate. Yang said a few things she couldn't quite hear. She didn't want to listen in on the conversation, but she couldn't help it when the blonde started to raise her voice slightly.

"Everything's fine, I'm sure we can handle our little problems together. If the stories from uncle Qrow are true, you weren't always a functional team either!" Yang commented playfully before laughing in amusement. Weiss frowned.

She couldn't see her teammate's face from her position. Yang had turned her back to her. Things were silent for a few seconds, and then she could see the blonde's shoulders tensing a little.

Her frown grew deeper.

"Anyway, I gotta go dad. I still have a few things to unpack," Yang continued. Her tone wasn't as chipper as usual, and it sounded very forced. Did something happen? "Love you!"

It wasn't directed at her, but those words stung. They were enough to break her out of her skeptical reverie. She briefly looked back at her feet, partly because she was out of it and partly because she didn't want Yang to see her and start a conversation.

To her surprise she didn't hear any footsteps. The only thing that filled the tense air was a deep sigh.

Weiss raised an eyebrow and looked back over to Yang. She was still leaning against the railing of the balcony's edge. Her shoulders were slumped.

The heiress couldn't see what she was doing. Was she gazing at the stars? It looked like she was staring ahead.

Whatever it was, it wasn't her business. Weiss straightened her back and decided to mind her own. Yang might've come here to have some time alone and she was more than willing to give her that.

Besides, she still had her own battle to deal with.

Her lips formed a thin line. Professor Port wanted her to become the best person instead of the best leader. It wasn't that easy, it didn't work like that. It wasn't going to be enough.

Weiss' eyes trailed back to Yang. She caught herself and quickly turned her head the other way. Why would she care about the blonde's reason to be here? Yang wasn't paying her any mind.

Perhaps that was what she wanted. For Yang to notice her.

Preposterous. They obviously hated each other, so why would Yang come to her?

Despite her own reasoning, blue eyes darted back to the brawler once more. She stared right into lilac.

Weiss almost jumped off the bench she was seated on. She made sure her back was as straight as it could be and took great care in squaring her shoulders. Unfortunately she forgot about her facial expression.

Yang started to come her way. Slowly, as if she was creeping towards her prey and every wrong move would scare it off. Weiss felt like a scared deer in Yang's headlights.

"Weiss." She sounded neutral, something the heiress hadn't expected. Anger would've been more appropriate, if Yang's behavior from the past few days were an indicator.

After a short moment of silence she was finally able to pull her lips apart. "Yang."

Without any sort of invite the blonde plopped down next to her. Weiss noticed the corner of Yang's mouth twitched upwards. "I don't know what you said to Rubes earlier, but she's built a bookfort around her."

Weiss blinked.

"I'd expect something like that from Blake, y'know, with all her books and stuff? We usually use blankets and pillows," Yang continued. Weiss still didn't understand what she was getting at.

"What?"

The blonde let out a laugh. "She's studying. Cramming, actually. I've never seen her try so hard, and I saw what she was like with designing Crescent Rose." It caught her off-guard. Ruby was doing that for her?

A strange feeling gnawed at the pit of her stomach. Weiss couldn't look Yang in the eye anymore. The ground looked a lot more interesting.

"Hey," her teammate started in worry. From the corner of her eye she saw Yang's hand reaching for her, but it remained at a safe distance. "Everything okay?"

Weiss felt a bit nauseous. Professor Port was right. Ruby wasn't worthy of her title at first, but at least she was doing her best.

Because Weiss had asked her to.

She took a deep breath before sighing. "I made a huge mistake."

How could she be so stupid? What if she already ruined the bond with her partner? The year had barely started and she already justified the argument that she didn't deserve to go to Beacon. All because she was blinded by greed.

Her father would come to pick her up and take her back to the prison he called home.

Weiss' flow of thoughts abruptly came to a screeching halt when she felt light pressure on her shoulder. Alarmed, she looked up. Yang flashed her an encouraging smile.

She didn't know what to do with it.

"That's okay. We all make those. Want to talk about it?"

Weiss couldn't quite grasp the meaning of this. She frowned, opened her mouth to say something, but swiftly pressed her lips back together again.

Yang nodded in understanding. "It's also okay if you don't want to say anything. But if you need a shoulder, you can always use mine. Okay?" Her lilac eyes were filled with what Weiss could only describe as determination. She really couldn't comprehend Yang.

"Why?" was out in the open before she could stop herself. She took a hold of the fabric of her skirt.

This time it was Yang who was caught off-guard. "Why what?" she asked. "Why did I say that?"

Weiss refused to look her teammate in the eye. She nodded.

A chuckle escaped Yang. "Because I want to be there for you, Weiss. We're teammates, we're gonna get to know each other better." Weiss didn't need to see Yang to know she was smiling. "And I care about you."

Hearing those words was one thing, but being able to process and accept them was another.

"Why?" she repeated. "We've only known each other for a few days. Our first meeting wasn't very friendly," she argued. She rolled her eyes. "Not as bad as with your sister, but still." Her voice wavered.

Yang put her hand on top of Weiss'. The touch was gentle, almost non-existent, as if the blonde was afraid to hurt her. She wasn't made of porcelain. Weiss glared at Yang, causing the latter to pull her hand back immediately.

It dawned upon the heiress that Yang was only checking up on her. She didn't want to make Weiss feel uncomfortable.

"Weiss."

Yang's voice was so stern Weiss felt like she had to look at her.

"You're my teammate now. You're gonna be a part of my life," she explained. "Yeah we got off to a rocky start… So did you and Ruby…" Yang broke eye-contact, though just for a second. "But we're gonna have plenty of time to fix that. I'm sure we can become friends."

There was that trademark smile again. Weiss was a little annoyed she could smile this much.

She remained silent, despite the fact Yang was finished with her little speech. Her silence signaled the blonde to continue. "I'm going to do my best to make that happen. Okay?"

Weiss noticed Yang wasn't asking her to do the same. Was she really willing to go that far? For her?

If an obnoxious brawler was more than willing to do her best for just a teammate, who was she to not be willing to do the same for her partner? Her leader?

Weiss nodded. "Okay," she slowly replied. Yang's smile widened. "I…" the heiress added in uncertainty. She mentally berated herself. "I'm going to do the same for you."

An arm wrapped itself around her and she was pulled into the blonde. "Aww, thanks!" the blonde said. Weiss regretted her actions.

She shook her head slightly. Not at all. It felt nice.

Warm.

"Oh, hey," Yang continued. She pulled back to put some distance in between them. "Speaking of things."

Weiss fought the urge to sigh.

"Thanks." The heiress raised an eyebrow. "For, y'know, saving Ruby back in the forest. I wouldn't have made it in time."

Seeing that serious look in her eyes, Weiss smirked a little. "You said it yourself," she replied. "We're teammates. We need to look out for each other."

Yang mirrored her smirk before getting up from the bench and stretching. "Good talk, but I'm pretty tired. Wanna come with?"

Weiss shook her head. "You go on ahead. I'll be there shortly."

The blonde eyed her in concern.

"I still need to make a phone-call," she lied. She didn't want to go back just yet. There were things she needed to think about; words that needed to be sorted out.

Her lie was enough to get Yang off her tail. "Oh, yeah. I'll see you later."

With a final smile Yang left the balcony. Weiss only had more to mull about.

* * *

 **A/n:** Yang thanking Weiss for saving Ruby... I really missed that in the show. Even if it was just an off-hand comment, they should've added it. That way we know Yang really cares for her baby sister, and that she's trying to reach out to her other teammates. I don't know. The lack of Yang in volume 1 always bothered me.

Anyway! Hope you liked it. I wanted to mirror their talk in Volume 5 because I really love parallels, and because their roles are pretty much reversed the first two volumes. This is the actual start of the Freezerburn build-up ;)


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